Paranoia, deceit, shame, and tragedy haunted the American politics from the 1960’s to early 1970’s (from Kennedy’s death to Nixon’s resignation). The ensued bundle of political gossip and public drama gave us one of best sub-genre in movies, called ‘paranoid thriller’. From Coppola to Roman Polanski many great directors gave cinematic rendering to the fears and distrust of that era. John Frankenheimer was one of those prominent film-makers, whose movies were drenched in paranoia. He targeted the delusions of the powerful politicians and media barons in “Manchurian Candidate” (1962) and “Seven Days in May” (1964) and got loads of critical acclaim. However, his bold and downbeat flick, “Seconds” (1966), which was a commentary on the social excess and suburban existence of the 60’s, didn’t get much attention as viewers failed to connect upon its theme in the initial release.
“Seconds” is a cautionary tale about the perils of wanting
too much or dreaming the wrong dream. The cult classic is simply based on the saying,
“be careful what you wish for; it might come true”. The film’s credits run in a
backdrop of stark black-and-white close-ups of different facial parts that are
twisted and pulled to create a hypnotic feel. The musical score (by Jerry
Goldsmith) is also brooding and little harsh. Then we see a middle-aged Arthur
Hamilton (John Randolph) trudging through the metro station with a feeling that
some is watching over him. When he hops inside the train, he receives a slip of
paper from a mysterious stranger. Later that night he gets a mysterious phone
call from a friend, who had long been dead.
Arthur is a banker and could be termed ‘successful’ in terms
of wealth, but he has grown distant from his wife (Frances Reid) and the life
he has created for himself. The bored Arthur follows the voice of the caller and
goes to meat-packing plant, where he is escorted to a sinister company that
specializes in giving the wealthy men a second chance. Arthur is offered a
re-birth. His death is faked by the Cadaver Procurement Unit, and he goes
through extensive, radical plastic surgery. After the operation Arthur emerges as
a much younger Tony Wilson (Rock Hudson). By exploring his dreams, the company
gives him an identity of a wealthy painter. He was set up with a beach-side home
in California and with a faithful servant (Wesley Addy). Tony even finds a
free-spirited acquaintance in Nora (Salome Jens). But Tony’s new wild life
starts to battle with old Arthur’s conscience.
“Seconds” demands some suspension of disbelief to fully
understand its themes. It rises a ‘what if?’ question, and so the procedures
involved with surgery and giving new identity may be riddled with plot holes,
if it is closely scrutinized. It hauntingly explores an individual’s conscience
amidst a culture that dramatically changes from one era to another. Director
Frankenheimer powerfully displays the cultural divide between the liberated
youths and their conservative parents in the beginning of American 60’s. Arthur,
the protagonist, once dreamed of being a liberated youth but his job and
marriage has given him a conservative life. But, he still holds to his early dreams
of emancipation. His new identity, which is filled with radical art and free
love, is a dream comes true. However, it turns out that our old Arthur hasn’t
dreamt the right dream. The reality of his fantasy only makes Tony/Arthur more
uncomfortable.
Only during the aggressive sequence of wine orgy,
Arthur/Tony lets his old-self and enjoys the seditious things, but soon after
that scene he goes back to being a man stuck in mid-life crisis. Sexually
voracious women and free-spirited artist eventually turns into a nightmare from
which he can’t awake. This whole identity-changing procedure gradually
showcases restless nature of human soul, which is constantly in pursuit of
something unattainable. It’s a perfect choice from Frankenheimer to cast the
handsome Rock Hudson in the role of Tony Wilson. Although John Randolph
(Arthur) and Hudson has no single physical resemblance, the choice once again
stresses the point that even when you polish your external identity, you can’t
escape from your own internal persona.
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| Title Sequence by Graphic Designer Saul Bass |
Rock Hudson, who has known for his roles in melodramatic and
romantic comedies (“All that Heaven Allows”, “Pillow Talk” etc), has taken a
vital acting departure in the film “Seconds”. He was a matinee idol whose
success was highly dependent on the perception of him as a clean-cut,
traditional male. As Tony Wilson, he perfectly displayed the inherent
frustration and dullness of alter-identity, Arthur because he has really experienced
the wearisome routines of an uncomplicated man. Through Rock Hudson, the
director has finely explored the surging desperation behind good looks or star
persona.
Apart from the impressive on-screen performances, the
talking point of “Seconds” is the flawless, unique visual style created by John
Frankenheimer and cinematographer James Wong Howe. The black and white
cinematography constantly employed various tricks and stylistic flourishes to
adjust us to the primary character’s subjectivity. Howe was one of the first to
use snorricam devices in the scene where a nervous Arthur moves through a
crowded train station (and later when Tony goes through mental breakdown).
Scorsese used a Snorricam shot in “Mean Streets” and the shot was extensively
employed in Darren Aronofsky’s “Requiem for a Dream” (in the walk of shame
sequence) and “Pi”. All these hand-held camera work and weird tracking shots (for
that period) immediately created a sense of paranoia and dread even among the
not-so dreary atmosphere.
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| John Frankenheimer and James Wong Howe |
The script from Lewis John Carlino, based on the novel by
David Ely, slackens a bit in the second act. The relationship between Tony and
Nora also felt too contrived, but the compelling ending firmly brings back the
feeling of unease. The ending may be one
of the bleakest in Hollywood cinema, but it’s a thematically perfect one.
“Seconds” (107 minutes) is full of slippery, paranoid energy
that’s infuriating as well as honest. It is one of the underrated classic of
American cinema which showcases the diabolical goings-on of the era it was
made.
Trailer
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